Page 14 of His Smile
“Why? Am I interrupting a confirmation of engagement?”
There was something unnaturally still about him that dancedalong the edges of her wariness. Rahina gave him an exhausted look as sheconsidered his question.
“Hardly,” she snorted. Looking around the room, she thoughtof Dev, she thought of his overly handsome face and angry eyes as he demandedfor her to give him a chance. “If anything, you’re interrupting me doing mybest to convince Dev that I would make a terrible wife for him.”
“And how exactly were you trying to convince him?”
Rahina?! They both heard her name being called in thehallway. A lance of fear struck her as she stared at the door to the room theywere in and prayed no one entered.
Looking back to him, she gave him a desperate look. “Youhave to go.”
Lifting his brows, Roman just stood there, giving her awaiting look. “First, I want to hear what you said to convince him that youwould make a terrible wife.”
Beyond frustrated with the giant man, Rahina shifted on herfeet and turned away. Walking to the door she listened to the low sounds ofvoices from down the hall. Dev must have gone back towards the front where themain dining area and the larger private rooms were located, most likelyassuming she went back to the family. Knowing she had a few minutes at least,she glared back at Roman, who was looking at her as if he didn’t have a care inthe world.
Rahina couldn’t help but laugh a little, the man certainlywas fearless. “I just told him, he was letting his mother pressure him, Ididn’t even get a chance to get into my many shameful qualities.” Walking herfingers on the edge of the lacquered table, her dark blue bangles clinkedagainst her wrist. “Like the fact that I am a workaholic, I have way more malefriends than I do women, or that I can’t cook which if you didn’t know, is justblasphemy for Bengali girls.”
Roman looked at her and mild surprise. “You can’t cook?”
Crossing her arms, she met his look of surprise with adefensive glare. “Nope.”
“What do you eat?”
The question didn’t so much confuse her rather, it was thehonest curiosity she sensed from him. “I use a subscription service that mailsme weekly fresh meals. You have seen them before, it’s the little black andclear container I bring to our lunches.”
Roman nodded in remembrance.
“So now that I told you, are you going to tell me why andhow you are here?”
Keeping his hands in his pockets, Roman took a step forward.The urge to step back fluttered along her instincts but Rahina purposelyignored it. Roman was a man used to intimidating people and watching themsquirm, she would not give him the gratification of her backing away. With agleam of challenge in her eye, she boldly stepped forward as well. Hisnaturally narrow eyes widened just a fraction as something passed throughthem—satisfaction, maybe.
“I came to turn the tables on you for once by arrivingunannounced,” he pointed out. “How long will it take for them to notice you arenot in the bathroom or with the others and start checking the restaurant morethoroughly—room by room?”
Fear threatened to rise up within her stomach as scenariosof her mother and outraged father bursting through the door and finding hertalking to the notorious Roman Mashir popped up in her head. She almost steppedback in retreat when it occurred to her, this was just another one of Roman’sscare tactics. Rahina nearly laughed, she almost fell for it. Looking upthrough her heavy lashes, she smiled coyly and took yet another step forwarduntil there was barely a foot between them. The warmth of his big body radiatedagainst her cool exposed skin. He smelled of coffee in the light trace of cologne;the scent made her want to shut her eyes and inhale.
“Was that your only reason?” Standing this close to him,Rahina lowered her voice. “Or did you do all of that work to get Dev to leavethe room for another reason?”
Like a man who had been doing this for years, Roman’s facemade no movement to signify shock or surprise that she figured out Dev’s suddenmystery phone call.
Dropping her eyes to the dark buttons of his shirt, sheshook her head. “I’m not even going to ask you how you did it.” From whatlittle she did know about the Russian gangster, Rahina knew there wasn’t muchhe couldn’t do.
“I wanted to see for myself just who exactly I was giving myblessings to,” he explained happily.
“And do you approve?” Unintentionally, her voice came out asa near whisper.
The smile from his lips faded away, leaving her to stare upinto the shadows of the stormy eyes. Lifting one hand, Roman reached for herhair that covered one shoulder. It felt as if the air between them had stopped.Every sound and every movement felt amplified as he lifted the long black hairup, cradling it in his palm before pushing it gently over her shoulder.
“How come you wear your hair like a mushroom in my presence?Why do you never look this way around me?” Moving those steel gray eyes fromher hair and down to her clothes, it felt as if he was taking in every detail.Overly conscious of him, Rahina felt as if he was watching even the rise andfall of her chest as she breathed.
“You mean, wearing my sari to your office?” her voice soundeddistant even to her, she could barely think in the intensity of this momentbetween them.
He made a deep sound of agreement in his throat as his eyescontinued to slowly travel her form.
His steady gaze was nearly too much. She felt as if she wassomehow going to fall over or do something else equally foolish if he didn’tstop.
“That’s just racist,” she stammered out quickly.
His eyes snapped back to hers suddenly as if jolted from hisown trance. Beautifully and unexpected, she watched his face relax into agenuine smile as he gave a deep laugh. She felt starstruck as she watched therare display.
